Graduate

Building Science (MBSc/MASc)

Courses

CORE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Building science theory

This course allows students to develop an advanced understanding of building science theory as it applied to sustainable design issues, and provides the foundation of technical knowledge for other courses. It includes understanding climate and solar geometry, the environment, advanced heat, air and moisture transfer, durability, and principles of modeling, Course content is relevant to the OBEC Building Science Specialist designation.

Building envelope systems

In this course students will investigate a variety of building envelope systems ranging from SIP panels to high performance curtain walls and develop detailed knowledge with respect to the performance of alternative systems and their relevance to durable, sustainable design. This will include the study of heat, air and moisture transfer through the envelope,. The course will also provide core knowledge for the OBEC Building Science specialist designation.

Energy efficient building services and renewable energy systems

This course provides students with opportunities to explore advanced building services systems appropriate for energy efficient buildings and to investigate renewable energy systems in buildings. The course will focus on a number of selected techniques, such as combined heat and power (CHP), solar energy systems, ground source heat pumps, etc. Students will develop knowledge and skills that enable them to carry out relevant work in research, design, evaluation, commissioning and development.

Ecological and resource efficient design

In this course students will have an opportunity to explore concepts such as biomimicry, closed loop systems, ecological design processes and prefabrication. Students will develop an in depth understanding of how to design to minimise the environmental impacts of material and component choices, specifications, and processes. The focus will be on resource efficiency, construction processes, and materials selection. Students will be asked to critically evaluate green building assessment systems and develop an understanding of LCA methods.

Buildings design seminar/studio (focusing on low energy design)

This seminar/studio course will focus on a design exercise/project aiming to develop and apply advanced knowledge of low energy design, exploring passive design, building form, construction technologies, and systems integration. Areas of study may include, net zero energy, natural lighting design, and integration of renewable energy. The use of appropriate methods of appraisal of passive systems and their integration will be considered.

RESEARCH COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Research Paper or Project

The student is required to conduct an applied advanced research project on a topic related to building science. The student presents and agrees the project plan with a supervisor, and the project is carried out under the guidance of the supervisor. The student must submit the completed project to an examination committee and make an oral presentation of the report to this committee, which will assess the report.

Thesis

The student is required to conduct high quality research on a topic related to building science. The topic is chosen in consultation with the student’s thesis supervisor, the student presents the research plan in writing, and the research is carried out under the direction of the supervisor. The student must submit the completed research in a thesis format to an examination committee and make an oral presentation of the thesis to this committee, which will assess the thesis. Through the thesis, the student is expected to furnish evidence of competence in research and a sound understanding of the specialty area associated with the research.

ELECTIVE COURSES

Examples of electives that may be offered by the Department of Architectural Science

Sustainability, heritage and existing buildings

This course considers the relationship between heritage and environment conservation. Students will develop the theoretical knowledge and the building science principles necessary for extending the life and improving the performance of heritage and other existing buildings. Students will develop an understanding of the theory and role of standards, testing and survey protocols, and will apply this in practice. There will also be a consideration of the economic basis of decision making. Course content is relevant to the OBEC Building Science specialist designation.

Building Automation

This course deals with the control of typical building service systems and equipment. It covers the methods and techniques used to control and operate building devices in order to optimize the indoor environment quality and to minimize the energy consumption and the operation costs. After completing the course, students are expected to be able to understand how typical building systems should be controlled, to design building automation systems for simple buildings, and to understand the principle of building automation and opportunities it offers.

Health, human comfort and indoor environment

Students will have an opportunity to develop an understanding of human comfort and the health impacts of spaces, forms, materials and ventilation systems. This will include the effect of materials selection, maintenance, ventilation and how design issues affect productivity, and how users perceive and experience spaces.

Building performance simulation/modeling (developed in association with Mechanical Engineering)

Simulation can be used as a teaching and research tool in the area of air movement, indoor air, wind impact, fire safety, energy efficiency, lighting, etc. Principle of modeling and computational simulation will be explored. This course will make students become familiar with the potential for building simulation programs particularly to improve energy performance and understand the techniques of simulation, why and when such programs can be best used. Students will develop critical skills necessary to assess the appropriate choice of procedure and precision at different stages of the design process. This course may be offered in association with the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Fire safety design

Fire safety engineering is the application of scientific and engineering principles based on an understanding of the phenomena and effects of fire and of the behaviour of people to fire, to protect people, property and the environment from the destructive effects of fire. This course addresses multi-disciplinary aspects involving chemistry (e.g. the behaviour of materials), physics (e.g. heat transfer, movement of smoke), civil engineering (e.g. deformation of structures), electrical and mechanical engineering, and psychology (e.g. behaviours of people). Students will explore how to provide an acceptable level of safety when an accidental fire occurs and consider the implications on innovative and experimental sustainable design solutions..

Advanced acoustic design

This course will provide students with opportunities to explore in depth how to provide appropriate acoustical environments within different building types, and the implications on materials use and other aspects of performance.

Building performance assessment

This course focuses on the complex issue of assessing existing buildings for their overall performance, particularly energy use, environmental impact and occupant satisfaction and to identify potential for improvement. This is key to ensuring that sustainable buildings perform to their potential. Post-occupancy building evaluations will be used and outputs compared to performance benchmarks on which buildings can be rated and compared. Students will have the opportunities to carry out an in depth study of a range of aspects of the performance of a building through measurement, surveys, investigations, etc.

Detail design project

This course will focus on a detail design problem and will be run as a project based course. The design will relate to some element of sustainable construction detailing focusing construction systems proposed for sustainable building projects. The course will allow students to investigate in detail a particular element or type of construction and develop appropriate design proposals. This course may be offered in association with the MArch program.

Existing electives that may be offered by other graduate programs:

Energy Management (Mechanical Engineering course ME8114)

The purpose of this class is to introduce the concepts and techniques of energy management and conservation. The subjects that will be discussed are energy supply and demand, energy pricing, scope of the energy problem and approaches to provide solutions; energy auditing; improving energy utilization in space conditioning and steam, hot water and compressed air systems; energy savings opportunities in refrigeration and cooling systems; insulation; and electrical energy conservation. An inter-disciplinary approach will be employed in this class to provide a wider understanding of the subject.

Pollution Prevention (Environmental Applied Science & Management course ES8903)

The course examines a number of industry-environment interactions. It discusses pollution prevention and industrial ecology, and it presents a survey of environmental concerns including material and energy budgets, life-cycle assessment, and industrial process wastes and their minimization. Design for environmental quality is discussed including energy use and design for energy efficiency. The course explores the future of industrial activity with regard to the environment and it reviews studies in selected industrial applications.

Energy and the Environment (Environmental Applied Science & Management course ES8910)

A review of thermodynamic fundamentals is provided including combustion, electricity generation, co-generation, heating, cooling and incineration. Energy utilizing technologies in the residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and transportation sectors and their impacts on the environment are examined. Methods and technologies for controlling and reducing the environmental impacts of energy technologies are discussed. The course covers the design of energy technologies for environmental management.

Environmental Assessment (Environmental Applied Science & Management course ES8923)

This course provides an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the application and evaluation of current biophysical, social and economic impact assessment. It examines environmental assessment as an environmental decision making instrument in provincial, federal and international contexts and it reviews methods to predict, evaluate and mitigate impacts in both human and natural environments. The course reviews the technical and scientific concepts that must be addressed in a comprehensive assessment of project impacts on complex, interacting physical and human systems. This is complemented by a critical appraisal of institutional structure and decision making in environmental management. Evaluation methods and practical applications are emphasized.

Environmental Management Systems (Environmental Applied Science & Management course ES8924)

This course examines the legal, economic and ethical reasons for the development, implementation and monitoring of a comprehensive, location-specific Environmental Management System (EMS). An EMS enables an organization to systematically identify environmental concerns and address them. The elements of a generic EMS are explored: planning and risk assessment phases; establishment of a policy; the outline of organization arrangements; design of the array of programs that address specific sets of environmental concerns such as production methods, energy use and waste disposal; and the development of a program of periodic environmental audits. The requirements of ISO 14000 are explored. Issues relating to the integration of EMS with quality management systems and occupational health and safety systems are discussed.

Advances in Concrete Materials (Civil Engineering course CV8106)

Chemistry and manufacturing of Portland cement; Supplementary cementing materials; Chemical admixtures for concrete; Properties of hardened concrete; Chemistry and mechanics of concrete deterioration and effects of SCM; Concrete of special properties; Advance experimental techniques in concrete.

Durability of Structures (Civil Engineering course CV8306)

Basic concepts, durability, safety, repair and strengthening. Deterioration mechanisms, corrective and preventive measures. Reliability analysis. Design for durability. Bridges. Parking structures. Steel, timber and masonry structures.  Management systems. Strengthening and retrofitting. Case studies.